


deaths revisited

by 0_dottedline



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Genderqueer Character, Multi, Murder, Non-binary character, Other, Rape/Non-con References, Sibling Incest, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-06
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2017-12-04 12:00:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/710562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0_dottedline/pseuds/0_dottedline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt: "Artemis and Apollo are both bigender. Interpret this as you will: maybe neither of their bodies have fixed forms, maybe they do and that has affected the expressions of each's essence somehow. Incest is pretty par for the course in the Greek pantheon, feel free to make their relationship as platonic/romantic/sexual as you wish."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Niobe

There are seven deaths (or six, or ten- the number fluctuates as often as her form) that she remembers. 

She is bearded (as she often is) and he is not (as he always is) and once again she is thinking of them. It is impossible not to remember their lifeless faces, the blood blossoming on their clothes, the glint of the sun off of the golden arrows that pierced each one of the girls. Or the boys, she does not remember.

Because she does not remember which among them she killed. 

It does not matter to her, except when it does. 

Shafts of light touch his sleeping form, and she sighs, lets the dark curls fall from her chin to the floor. She will not let him touch her now that her face is bare, as though the feeling of the coarse hair against his soft skin will be enough to protect her from giving too much away. They are of the same essence, and yet she could lose herself so easily. Sometimes the nature of what they have is so complicated that she forgets where her body ends and his begins. It is then that she finds herself pulling back, avoiding his gaze, retreating to the woods. And there she thinks often of their mother, and of death.

They disposed of Niobe's children, and left her sobbing. Together. Naturally. And would she have had it any other way? 

But there are days when she wonders what it means.


	2. Iphigenia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for this prompt: "Artemis and Apollo are both bigender. Interpret this as you will: maybe neither of their bodies have fixed forms, maybe they do and that has affected the expressions of each's essence somehow. Incest is pretty par for the course in the Greek pantheon, feel free to make their relationship as platonic/romantic/sexual as you wish."

The girl is getting too dependent on her, she thinks.

Perhaps it's because she spared her life. Or perhaps it's because she's just that appealing. She is not without pride. (And Apollo knows this- didn't he use that to trick her into shooting her own lover? She is not sure. She recalls events in bits and pieces. Perhaps this is a result of the way she shifts and changes, but does it matter? Would she stop changing for the sake of clarity?) 

And wasn't it her pride that was wounded by the girl's father's boast? Not that she would ever admit it.

She looks over at Iphigenia, who is wrapping her chest tightly with fabric. She looks up, and smiles. Artemis looks away. This has to stop, she thinks. If the girl is to truly flourish, to find herself, she has to stop looking to Artemis as a model. It's simply not enough to mimic her sometimes-flat chest and her voice that is always deeper or higher than what everyone's expecting. 

“I know what you're thinking,” the girl says suddenly. 

Artemis looks up at her. “Do you?” she asks, raising one eyebrow.

The girl walks over to her, and looks at her intently. “I thought I did,” she admits, “but I can't tell what you're thinking now. It used to be that your eyes gave it away.” She smiles.

She is close, and what she wants is obvious. Artemis puts a hand on her cheek, then, not out of desire, but because it is expected. She kisses her, not because she is attractive- although, Artemis admits, this is also true- but because it is a sign of approval. If the girl has noticed a change in her, she is perceptive. And that, at least, is a sign she is better than the father whose foolishness brought her here.


End file.
